UPDATED: Domy Books-Houston closing July 14, new art space will open in its place

Domy Books-Houston — an independent bookstore/art gallery/gift shop at 1709 Westheimer that’s also known for its toys and movie nights – is closing July 14.

Here’s a note, posted on Domy’s Facebook page, from owner Dan Fergus:

We would like to thank everyone who has supported Domy over the years. Please join us for our going away party on Sunday , July 7th 6-8pm. Everything in the store will be on clearance from July 7-July 14.

So there you go. All of us at Domy throughout our seven years would like to thank you for your patronage and support. Come out on Sunday, July 7th and give us a good send off… Food, drinks, music, and tons of cheap stuff. And yes, things are already being marked down so if you wanna get a jump on things pop on by.

And many thanks to everyone who did time behind the counters in both locations these years: Russell, Seth, Patrick, Nick, Lane, Lisa, Bucky, John, Stewart, Sam, Matt, Brandon, Whitney, Ariana, Ali, Travis, Mikaylah…i know i’m missing some Austin folk. But you get the idea. You all helped make Domy what it is/was. Thanks.

Now come buy some books!!! I can’t take them all home!

A sister store, Domy-Books-Austin, closed in February and was replaced by Farewell Books, a progressive bookshop and art gallery focusing on new, used and hard-to-find books, as well as art work by local and national artists.

UPDATE

Cody Ledvina, who collaborated with Brian Rod on The Joanna, will take over the space that is currently Domy and use it to host events with emerging artists. The new space will be called The Brandon. Reached by email, Ledvina said:

…Patrick Bresnan is the co-founder of the space. However, I am the curator. The first event IN the space will be the large group show in early September. It’s a mix of local, state, and national artists, here are a few of the names…

The Brandon will be hosting events on the back patio of Brasil, 2604 Dunlavy, starting Wednesday, July 10th.

Below is the press release for the first event:

Join us on the back patio of Brasil as The Brandon Gallery presents its on-going lecture series, SHI TED. Developed in collaboration with the Socialism Houston Institute (SHI) the presenters all have something very valuable to share with the Houston community. From Baywatch to Space Law, each lecture will provide the audience with new, 21st century information.

The program will begin at 8:30 and include presentations from Justin Blandford, Katie Haught, Cody Ledvina, Nick Meriwether, Gene Morgan, and OTIS IKE.

17 Responses

I was sad to see that this store is closing, I would rather have an independent bookstore than whatever is planned for that space, some sort of avant garde so called “art” space. Of course the whole face and feel of Westheimer/Monstrose is changing, and the real local stores are moving away, and those who won’t move seem to mysteriously catch on fire in the middle of the night.

Actually, they had a good location for alot of foot traffic. The antiquers and college kids walked through all the time, plus it shared an open-air patio with a couple of shops and a cafe. Folks would buy a cup of coffee from Brasil and a book from Domy, then sit in the shade and read under the jasmine vines. Or you’d be on that end of town shopping for something at the hardware store, and find it was so easy to drop by and get a present. As retail locations go, it seemed ideal for attracting browsers.

You can think technology for that. With computers, amazon, blio and other websites and YES the Kindle and the I-PAD, it seems that is why these bookstores have gone downhill and had to closed. Just as Blockbuster did because of cable.

No. Simply: no. You are wrong. Independent bookshops specializing in collectable volumes do no compete with iPads. If an dealer in rare or antiquarian books must close his shop, the problem is the business model. Not the iPad.

Mr. M-they aren’t really a dealer in rare and antiquarian books; more of a small bookstore that carefully curates their selection, with a lot of books related to art, photography, design, graphic novels and pop culture, many of them more expensive volumes with lots of pictures.